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My guess is that as before, CG won't stock the USA-made models in stores, but will carry them online along with Musician's Friend, with whom they share warehouse stock. A strength of ordering through GC is that, as mentioned, you can have a warehouse item delivered to your nearest store, assess it there, and accept or reject the item. You can also take it home to evaluate, and return it to your local store for a full refund (per their policy's stated length of time).

Just to be clear, my personal experience here was that you buy the item first to get it delivered to your local GC (or any GC you want - I bought something online from my home in MA and had it shipped to Emeryville, CA where I was visiting). It's clearly not the same as just trying something that's "in stock" in a store. That said, as we all know, there's a very lenient and easy return policy if your real intent is just to get something into the store so you can try it out. I don't know what GC does if you "return" the item. My guess is they just ship it back to whatever distribution center it came from, but perhaps they put it up in the store. Dunno.

chazmo, they will only order something they normally carry in stock. The blue Breedlove was a $1000 non refundable deposit. The all myrtlewood Concerto E they had on the wall. They were willing to order me a new one but were totally out of line on the price and said it didn't come with a case. So Sandy gave me a heads up and I ordered it from Springfield Music for $1599 brand new with a case. GC wanted $2000 with no case.

So it kind of depends if it's something they normally stock or not. So the answer is "It depends." I guess!!

I think we're saying the same thing, Tom. What they *don't* normally stock, you can order -- as in, you can just *buy* it online -- and have shipped to any GC. What I was questioning was that if your intent was really just to try, say, a new Oxnard F-55, but that you didn't really want it... and then you return it to the store.... would they put it up on the wall and sell it there or ship it back to their fulfillment center?

My guess is that as before, CG won't stock the USA-made models in stores, but will carry them online along with Musician's Friend, with whom they share warehouse stock.

I'm betting you're right for the simple reason that I don't think Cordoba's gonna be able to build enough to put several in every store, for quite a while.
I think Tom's (Davisman's) anecdote is relevant for the model he was interested in, and there may have been some manager's discretion (or lack thereof) in that failed sale and deposit requirement.
I think the manager wanted to unload his aging inventory and was trying to discourage the purchase of a new one with the case it should have come with, leaving him still stuck with his aging inventory.
I think that's also the secondary driver about what GC will stock, they need turns, they can't afford to have costly stuff sitting on the wall for months at a time.
They need to rotate that cheap stuff (or at least the "big name" brands that'll do that on the strength of their name recognition)in and out rapidly, that's where the real money is in retail.

Originally Posted by bobouz

A strength of ordering through GC is that, as mentioned, you can have a warehouse item delivered to your nearest store, assess it there, and accept or reject the item. You can also take it home to evaluate, and return it to your local store for a full refund (per their policy's stated length of time).
That provides for a lot of no-risk flexibility.

Yes, it provides a way for them to service this kind of niche at relatively low risk in terms of inventory investment.
But they've gotta offer a lot of flexibility in the return policy to reassure buyers.
Having covered that stuff, I was surprised t see GC's opening another store in San Jose, given all the noise about their financial difficulties and impending implosion.
I suspect it's in a much more readily accessible location and perhaps a downsize from their current one.
Wouldn't surprise me if that one's slated to close, maybe.

I think we're saying the same thing, Tom. What they *don't* normally stock, you can order -- as in, you can just *buy* it online -- and have shipped to any GC. What I was questioning was that if your intent was really just to try, say, a new Oxnard F-55, but that you didn't really want it... and then you return it to the store.... would they put it up on the wall and sell it there or ship it back to their fulfillment center?

I'd bet the manager has some discretion there based on his local conditions.
He might want to keep it a while or he may decide he doesn't want to carry the inventory and send it right back.
There might be "shipping" issues to consider too, the cost and damage risk of shipping something around too many times.
For sure in Tom's case I think it was a manager trying to sell what he had on the floor, as I described above.
(oh, I see his reply now)
My memory of the original scenario was that it was supposed to come with a case but they lost it, and to get one with a case they treated it as a special order.
A smarter manager would have cut Tom a better deal for "no case" and finally moved the guitar.
Cash flow.Turns.

An item ordered online from GC (new or used), whether shipped to a particular store or to your home, can be returned to your local GC for a full refund, whether it's a typically stocked item or not. I've done this a number of times, and had asked specifically before doing so.

Of course, their policy could change tomorrow, or a particular store manager might try to fight it. If that occurred, I'd call their toll-free online number for assistance. Best bet is to ask at your local store first to assure exactly how they are interpreting the policy.

I ordered the F-2512E from the Westerly collection. I was looking for a 12 string around that price range and when saw the Guild I had to have it. I will be coming some time this week. Will get pics up when I get it.